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Should we be worried about the Little General’s Lieutenants?

Article by Jon GuyFollow e-Sunderland on Twitter!'Like' us on Facebook!While I, like so many Sunderland fans, have been encouraged and humoured in almost equal measure over the plethora of players the club have been linked with in recent weeks, one announcement has not passed me by.

Given that it has been publicly stated that the club is looking for six quality signings to accompany the exit of those deemed to be surplus to requirements, it remains a case of wait and see given the tens of targets identified by agents and the media.Therefore, while the first team on the pitch for 2015/16 is still very much undecided, Dick Advocaat has named his backroom team and I really hope he can buck a very disturbing trend.The man who ended last season as first-team coach, Zelkjo Petrovic, is now assistant head coach. Paul Bracewell, part of the team that took us to the 1992 FA Cup final against all odds, is now the first team coach with Adrian Tucker goalkeeping coach, with the backroom staff completed by sports scientist Scott Pearce.All well and good but there is one name missing from this backroom collective and that is Advocaat’s long-time lieutenant Bert van Lingen.It seems van Lingen took the decision to retire alongside his friend Advocaat but has not had the change of heart that would lead him back to the Stadium of Light for one more throw of the dice.